Interior Dynamics
- What are the mechanisms responsible for variations in the
spectral and total irradiance of the Sun and solar-type stars?
- What is the structure of the Sun's internal magnetic and
velocity fields, and how are they related to the surface fields?
- What are the large-scale velocity fields inside the Sun as
functions of depth, latitude, and phase of the solar cycle?
- How does convection operate? What is the role of magnetic
buoyancy in the convection zone? What is the structure of the
transition between the radiative core and the convection zone?
Solar Plasma/Magnetic Field Interactions
- How is magnetic energy stored and released in the solar
atmosphere?
- How are active regions born? How do they evolve and die?
- What magnetic configurations and evolutionary paths lead to
flares and coronal mass ejections?
- What is the physics of solar transients that cause impulsive
emissions of radiation, plasma, and high-energy particles?
Origin and Evolution of the Corona and the Solar
Wind
- How does the energy transported from the solar interior heat
the corona?
- What is the three-dimensional structure of the coronal magnetic fields?
- How is the magnetic structure of the corona related to its thermal and
dynamic evolution?
- What processes are responsible for the acceleration of the
quasi-stationary solar wind? Where does the slow solar wind
originate, and why is it slower than the fast wind from coronal
holes?
Interaction of the Solar Wind with the Interstellar Medium
- How do the size and structure of the heliosphere respond to solar
wind variations?
- How do conditions in interstellar space control the heliosphere?
